Aberdeen council makes staff training easy with Cobent

Cobent – the ‘compliance’ software vendor, specialising in the manufacturing and life sciences sectors – is helping Aberdeen City Council make training and development easier for the Council’s 12,500 full and part-time staff.

The City Council is using the Cobent Learning Compliance Suite (LCS) to convert specific classroom training into e-learning courses – which can be accessed from any location and allow staff to work at their own pace.

The Cobent LCS is expected to cut training costs because it helps reduce the need for classroom trainers and training facilities, and the need to take staff away from their jobs for an extended period.

The City Council will realise additional cost savings by using Cobent LCS to harness existing knowledge and experience to develop bespoke courses, which are less expensive than bought-in products and which can be aligned more closely to staff needs.

Where classroom training is needed, staff will be able to use the Cobent LCS to book themselves on to courses, reducing administration. Cobent has provided the City Council with specialist advice and training to enable human resources staff to use Cobent LCS to develop in-house e-learning.

Michelle Shek, Aberdeen City Council human resources advisor and the Cobent LCS project manager, said: “Our vision is to provide staff with the training and development they want and need in a more flexible, convenient and cost-effective way.

“Cobent has provided the Council with a best-value solution, in terms of cost and need, for achieving our goal. It means staff get a better level of training and that means the Council can deliver a higher level of service to the community.”

In-house and off-the-shelf courses will cover subjects such as personal development and management training, appraisal, understanding business and finance, and recruitment and selection.

Because the Cobent LCS is an online system, it will extend training to staff like teachers or care workers who cannot easily leave their place of work.

Howard Sears, Cobent chief executive officer, said: “Local government organisations like Aberdeen City Council are under constant pressure to increase the quality of service provision and yet continually reduce costs.

“Solutions like Cobent LCS are specifically designed to make processes like training and development easier and more cost-effective to implement but also to provide individuals with a more user-friendly and flexible way for them to learn, increase their skills and, in turn, help improve public services.”